India is likely to send 45 million doses of Made-in-India vaccines to Pakistan under an agreement with GAVI alliance. The GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation) is a global health partnership dedicated to providing "immunisation for all".
Of the 45 million, 16 million vaccine doses will be sent by June this year, News18 reported, citing sources.
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"India is open to provide any humanitarian help to Pakistan. More vaccine will be given directly. A decision on this will be taken soon," officials said, requesting anonymity.
Pakistan's drug regulator, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in January this year. The country plans to vaccinate at least 70 percent of its 220 million people free of cost.
Pakistan on March 8 announced to review relaxation in COVID-19 restrictions to reopen schools and businesses like cinemas and dine-in restaurants, as the country is witnessing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases.
The decision was taken after a meeting of Minister for Planning Asad Umar with the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the key anti-coronavirus body.
It also discussed deferring the opening up of cinemas, indoor weddings and dine-in restaurants, which were expected to be allowed to open from March 15.
Pakistan has so far reported 592,100 cases and 13,227 deaths, according to the Ministry of National Health Services. The positivity rate stood 4.63 percent.
Meanwhile, India has so far supplied coronavirus vaccines to around 65 countries, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius.
India has so far approved Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine, being manufactured by Serum Institute of India. India started its COVID-19 vaccination drive in January. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India has crossed 2.40 crore, according to the Union Health Ministry.
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